Trees are great for air quality. They can intercept particulates on their surfaces or even take up pollutants though respiration. They can also positively (and negatively) affect how pollution from cars and trucks is dispersed. When a plant takes up a pollutant, the removal is permanent. However, when pollutants or particulate matter is deposited on plants, they may later be … [Read more...]

Part II of Low Impact Development Conference presentations on New York City’s Green Infrastructure Maintenance.
Miki Urisaka, New York City Department of Environmental Protection, and Shandor Szalay, AKRF, spoke about how the city is studying green infrastructure operations and maintenance during the Low Impact Development Conference in Portland, Maine, in August.
How do you … [Read more...]

New York City’s Green Infrastructure Plan is a bold initiative to leverage multiple benefits of using vegetated green stormwater management. Their plan lays out three big goals: 1) Reduce the city’s combined sewer overflow (CSO) volume by an additional 3.8 billion gallons a year (about 2 billion gallons a year more than the all-Grey Strategy); 2) Capture rainfall from 10% of … [Read more...]

Stormwater Trees Technical Memoradum, written by TetraTech for EPA, was released last fall. The 21-page online PDF reviews the stormwater, environmental and aesthetic benefits of trees while also presenting challenges of increasing the use of trees for stormwater control. Soil volume, site evaluation and plant selection are all covered broadly. Two case studies are included. … [Read more...]

How will green infrastructure fare in a Trump Administration? That’s the question on my mind after last Tuesday’s election. Green stormwater infrastructure, urban forests, pollinator and wildlife habitat initiatives, and research into the place-based, health and environmental services of the managed urban landscape. The federal government plays a role in all of it through … [Read more...]